Man 'freaked out' by meeting his bionic double

Bertolt Meyer, who was the model for the Bionic Man, says he had a very
negative emotional reaction to seeing his face on a $1 million (£635,000)
artificial human.

Rex – short for “robotic exoskeleton” stands two metres tall, has prosthetic limbs, and artificial organs as well as artificial blood.

The Bionic Man was put together by the Shadow robotics company using artificial limbs and organs borrowed from the laboratories of leading scientists from as far afield as New Zealand and San Francisco.

As well as prosthetic arms and legs, he has a functioning heart, lung, kidney, pancreas and spleen, artificial arteries that carry man-made blood, and a microchip that interprets images and acts as a rudimentary eye.

Bertolt Meyer, a Swiss psychologist born without a left hand, who was the model for Rex said he feels awkward about seeing his face on the robot.

"It still freaks me out. I had a very negative emotional reaction when I saw it for the first time and I still feel awkward when I'm close to it and have to look it in the eye," said Mr Meyer.